Submarine operating device



Sept. 17, 1935. M. c. LORD SUBMARINE' OPERATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 11, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1140mm"v CILord Sept. 17, 1935. M. c. LORD SUBMARINE OPERATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 11, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gaf e Mount-Clara am 4 W Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Submarine Motorship Dredge,

Inc., Seattle,

Wash., a corporation of Washington Application December 11, 1933, Serial No. 701,779

4 Claims.

' My invention relates to submarine operating devices such, for instance, as may be used in dredging operations, and more especially in gold I dredging.

In such operations it is quite essential that there be close supervision of the operations to the end that the dredging nozzle may follow the values, in order that obstructions may be found and removed, and in order that banks may be undercut, and in general the nozzle kept clear and operating properly. It is difficult to accomplishthese ends when operating solely from the surface, and according to my invention, therefore, there is provided a float or floats and operating and control mechanism supported thereon, but in association therewith I provide a submarine working chamber which is controllable from the float, and to which admission can be had at all times through an air look from above, to the end that the work can be frequently inspected and directed.

It is an object of my invention, therefore, to provide a combination of operating and control devices, and a submarine working chamber and means for controlling the same, all associated to the end of best directing and controlling the entire dredging operations.

With this object in mind, and others as will appear hereafter, my invention comprises the novel parts and the novel assemblage thereof, as is shown in the accompanying drawings, and as will be described in this specification, and more particularly pointed out by the claims at the end thereof.

In the accompanying drawings my invention is illustrated as embodied in a typical device, more or less diagrammatically.

Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section through the dredge, illustrating the operating and control parts mounted thereon, with the working chamber and admission tube shown in elevation.

Figure 2 is a vertical section at right angles to Figure 1 through the working chamber and associated parts, showing the dredge in end elevation.

It will sometimes be convenient to employ one float for the control and operation of the working chamber and another for the operating parts, but preferabl one float is provided for all these purposes. Such a float is illustrated at l, and may be provided with a main deck II] and a control cabin II on the upper deck l2. This upper deck preferably projects beyond one end of the float, so that the control cabin H is over the Water, that portion where the working chamber is supported. To gain access to the Working chamber the deck i2 is provided with an opening l3, and there may be a further opening above and in alignment therewith, closed by the hatch l4. '5

The dredging nozzle is illustrated in general at 2, and is supported in any convenient way from the float, whereon is also mounted a pump 20 drawing water through a suction pipe 2|, and delivering it through a pressure pipe 22 to the nozzle 2, whence it is discharged, along with the entrained gravel, through the discharge pipe 23 leading to a convenient point where the gravel can be collected and the values removed. The water supply through the pressure pipe 22 is suitably controlled, as by a valve 24 preferably located adjacent the pump. The nozzle may be of any convenient design, andpreferably is of the design shown in my copending application Serial No. 701,778, filed December 11, 1933. Its function is to translate hydraulic pressure into velocity, and thereby to create suction action on the gravel of a river bed, etc., to raise it through the discharge pipe 23, along with the values. As a convenient means of supporting the nozzle 2 I provide a 25 winch, illustrated at 25, connected by a line 26 to the nozzle or to the pipes connected therewith.

The nozzle is disposed beneath the open bottom of a working chamber 3 located within a casing 363. The form of this chamber is immate- 30 rial. It is shown as rectangular and of a size to permit the workmen to enter it and to direct the placing of the nozzle and other devices preparatory to operation. Access is had to the working chamber by means of a sectional admission tube 3! which extends from the chamber to a point above the surface, preferably to the level of the upper deck l2. Such a tube may be formed of a plurality of sections suitably connected together, as by the flanges and bolts illustrated at 32. One of these sections, preferably the upper one, con- 'stitutes an air lock, and to this end is provided with air-tight closure 33 and 34, whereby workmen may enter through one closure, and after it is closed, open the other, and thus have access to 4,5 or from the working chamber without the escape of air therefrom. Water is removed from the working chamber by suitable means, such as air under compression delivered to the chamber by means of a pipe connection 35 delivered from the storage tank 4 which is maintained at any desired pressure by the compressor, diagrammatically illustrated at M). Since the pipe 35 must extend downward to the level of the working chamber, which is variable, it too may be formed working chamber.

in sections suitably coupled together, and the supply is controlled by suitable valves 4! and 43, while a valve 42 controls supply of air to the air lock chamber.

In order to control the vertical movement of the working chamber 3 I prefer that there be provided at each side of it a buoyancy tank 5, each of which has an open bottom. There may be one or there may be several of such tanks, but it is convenient to form them at each side only of the working chamber. To control the amount of water in the tanks and the amount of air and therefore the amount of buoyancy developed, pipes 5| communicate from each of the tanks 5 through a valve 52 to the air supply pipe 44. Air may be exhausted from any part of the system by the opening of a valve 45, the main valve 4| being then closed. Further to ballast the working chamber and associated parts I provide tanks 55 which may be filled with gravel or like ballast, and the amount of ballast placed in these tanks may be varied at will.

The ballast is so proportioned that the working chamber and associated parts will substantially support themselves at any desired level, but to control its level there may be provided a hoisting line 56 connected to the working chamber and extending thence to a drum 51' on the float.

To control the position of the dredging nozzle 2 I provide lateral control lines 25 extending over a windlass 26 in the control cabin, and longitudinal control lines 28 extending about a Windlass 29 in the control cabin, and by these lines passing under the edge of the casing 30 the location of the nozzle with respect to the working chamber can be controlled at will, there being suflicient flexibility in the connections to the nozzle to permit its transverse and longitudinal movement.

It is occasionally necessary, in order to dislodge material in advance of the nozzle or to undercut a bank toward which the nozzle is advancing, to provide a force nozzle 6, and this is controlled by lines 60 running over a windlass 6| in the control cabin, and by supporting the force nozzle upon a pipe 62 supported for longitudinal adjustment and for vertical adjustment in a sleeve 63. A line 64 connects the pipe 62 through a valve 65 with the pump 20. Such operations can be directly controlled or directed by a workman within the chamber 3.

At times it will be necessary to grapple and lift for removal large boulders or like objects which may be positioned in advance of the nozzle 2, and

, to this end I provide a grappling hook or tongs I connected by lines 10 to a drum 13, and supported from a crane 12. A drum H carrying a line 14 controls the operation of the crane, which is pivoted at 75 at the end of the deck I0, adjacent the This operation can be controlled or directed from within the chamber 3. A line 16, which may be extended ashore or to a distant point, enables rocks to be carried away when picked up and dropped at a point where they will not interfere with the dredging operation.

To supply power for the various operations I may provide a motor 8 upon the deck In, this: being connected through a shaft and various clutch arrangements, as illustrated in Figure 1,

to the pump 20, the compressor 40, and the drums 51, H and 13.

As is now clear, a workman may enter the working chamber 3 through the air lock closures 34 and 33, climbing down the ladder 39, and may finally stand upon the bottom and direct the placing of the nozzle 2, the nozzle 6, or the grappling operations of the hook 1. Communication is had, of course, by telephonic means or like devices which readily suggest themselves, but are 5 not shown. The workman then ascends and the operations commence, although the workman may remain in the working chamber, if that is deemeddesirable, at least while some of the operations are in progress. When it becomes necessary to 10 lower the working chamber to a lower level, a new section of the admission tube 3| is attached through the hatch closed by the hatch cover l4, the air lock member being removed, or left in place and the new section placed above it. The 15 working chamber may then be exhausted of water by supplying air thereinto, and the workman may then descend again through the air lock chamber. In the operations of handling the sections of the admission tube the crane 12 may be brought 20 into use, and if desired, it may be made longer or higher if required to facilitate this. 1

Various safety devices and the like may beprovided as required, but since these in themselves form no essential part of my invention they have 2g not been illustrated.

By the use of a nozzle or elevating means of sufficient power, the bottom can be excavated from depths of a hundred feet or more, and operations can be intelligently directed because a workman 3Q;

can be on the spot, and by reason of his being able to see the work and its progress, it is not necessary to operate blindly, and to raise a mass of non-productive material on the chance of raising values. When the occasion requires, the noz- 35 1 zle may be changed or adjusted from within the Working chamber, or obstructions therein can be removed in the same way. This will save much time and effort.

To move the dredge about, a drum 9 may be 40 employed, over which a line runs to an anchor or spud of any suitable kind, and by supplying power from the shaft 80 to this line the dredge is easily moved. This drum may receive the line 16,

whereby to haul away obstructing boulders; in 5 such case the line would extend through a pulley block at a distance. The line may, in a swift current, serve to anchor the dredge, and also to control its movement in the manner described.

What I claim as my invention is: 50

1. In a device for facilitating submarine operations, in combinatioma float, a submarine working chamber supported by said float, a dredging nozzle, a force nozzle for dislodging material in advance of the dredging nozzle, grappling means 55 for lifting rocks and the like from the vicinity of the nozzle, operating means on the float for the two nozzles, and the grappling means, and means on the float for moving the several devices referred to into various operative positions. 60 j 2. In a device for facilitating submarine operations, in combination, a float, a submarine working chamber supported by said float, a dredging nozzle, a force nozzle for dislodging material in advance of the dredging nozzle, grappling means 65 open bottom supported by said float, and means on said float for moving said nozzle relatively to the working chamber in any desired lateral direction. I

4. In combination with a float and a submarine working chamber, an admission tube of adjustable length extending from said chamber to above the surface, a control cabin projecting above and beyond the float to overhang the water and surrounding the tube, and means carried by the float for controlling the depth of the chamber and. for raising the same into a position in substantial prolongation with the float, beneath the overhanging 5 control cabin.

MOUNT C. LORD. 

